We made it to double digits! This episode explores the bloody precursor to the town of Sugar Land and takes a look at the forgotten W.C. Munn Department Store that was once among the Houston's largest.

On Denton Cooley and Department Store Chains

Feb 6th, 2019 33m 53s

We share lots of good history about famed Dr. Denton Cooley. There is even a nice exclusive clip of him telling a story from his childhood. Plus JR runs down the arrival of Montgomery Wards, Penney's and Joske's into Houston. It's a top notch e

On Roy Hofheinz as county judge and Fitzgerald's

Jan 9th, 2019 31m 58s

Episode 8 dips into the history of two topics made even more relevant by recent events. We look at Roy Hofheinz's time as Harris County Judge which began when he was only 24 years old, and we give our up close and personal thoughts on the music

On JFK in Houston and Time Travel

Dec 18th, 2018 32m 49s

John F. Kennedy made three visits to Houston that warranted national news coverage. We explore the three plus toss around some ideas about what era of Houston history we'd like to visit.

On History Houston Photography and Hispanic Murals

Dec 5th, 2018 40m 20s

We welcome our first ever guest on Catfish Reef as Mike and JR visit with Story Sloane about history photography in Houston. Also we chat about the flurry of new and refurbished Hispanic murals including the new one at The Heritage Society enti

On the Galveston Fire of 1885 and Edna Saunders

Nov 16th, 2018 34m 34s

Episode 5 takes us down to the island to look at their great conflagration and introduces listeners to the woman who brought the entertainment world to Houston for half the 20th century.

On the Kiss of Death Bridge and Jack Yates

Oct 17th, 2018 32m 57s

Episode 4 contains a fantastic discovery from the files of the Houston Press in the 1930s, the Kiss of Death Bridge, along with a biographical segment on 19th century African-American minister and educator Jack Yates.

on Flooding and Ralph "Andy" Anderson

Oct 17th, 2018 23m 21s

Episode 3 includes some historical background on flooding and hurricanes and some personal memories of JR and Mike plus a bio on sports writer and veterans' activist Ralph "Andy" Anderson.

On Astroworld and Hugh Roy Cullen

Oct 17th, 2018 29m 6s

Episode 2 includes talk about Houston's most widely lamented tear down and a biographical piece about an oil wildcatter turned mega-philanthropist.

Catfish Reef Pilot Episode

Oct 17th, 2018 32m 8s

The inaugural episode includes an explanation of the podcast title, a bit about the Gulf Hotel Fire of 1943, some Tex-Mex reminiscing and a lot of getting to know the hosts, a pair of native Houstonians with an unparalleled love for their homet

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